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Sunday Street Team #Interview: Jessica Cluess, author of A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING

Oh look! I’m part of Nori’s Sunday Street Team, and I get to kick off with the author of a book I’m so excited about I preordered it aaaages ago!

JESSICA CLUESS!

I know, I know, lucky me! I’m stoked that Cluess is here today to talk about writing her debut novel, A Shadow Bright and Burning, as well as what power she’d like to have. (One that I would love just as much, FYI.)

But wait, there’s more! If you’re in the US, you can enter to win an ARC of A Shadow Bright and Burning in the giveaway at the end. 😀

Questions with Cluess

How long did it take you to write the first draft?

The very first draft came fast and easy. I think it was exactly one month from the time I wrote the first work to the last. Getting the book into shape took a lot longer, but the skeleton of the story always remained. I’ll probably never have an easier time writing anything again in my life.

Which was your favourite scene to write?

Hmmm. I’m going to say the first battle with Korozoth. There’s a lot of emotion and excitement, and it was a blast to write.

Who was your favourite character and why?

I’d say it’s a tie. There’s Henrietta, obviously, since she’s my protagonist and hero. But the magician Hargrove is also someone I love to write. He’s so snarky and has so much going on that other characters can’t see or don’t know about.

If you could have any power, what would it be?

The power to have all my laundry done without me having to lift a finger. That would be a power too great and terrible to imagine.

How is writing the sequel different to writing A Shadow Bright and Burning?

Writing SHADOW was what I think the dream of being a writer is like—you sit down in the morning, and the words and ideas come faster than you can type them. And they’re usually the right words and ideas. Writing the sequel has been more like what being a writer actually is. It’s akin to bashing around in the kitchen during the night with all the lights off, trying to make an omelet. You can eventually get it done, but you’re going to smash things along the way. Pretty much nothing I originally started out with got kept.

Have you learned anything in the process of writing that you wished you’d known when you first started?

If there’s one thing I wish I’d known beforehand, it’s how important making friends and talking to people in the community will be. Since writing’s such a solitary activity, you need friends around you.

What’s your favourite thing about being an author?

I really love seeing people’s reactions to the book, and talking with them about it. Even if someone really doesn’t like it, hey, they read it! That’s good enough for me.

What is your favourite book about sorcery?

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is really the book that inspired me to attempt my own historical English fantasy. It’s not a quick read—it’s like twenty thousand pages with extensive footnotes—but it’s so rich and filled with detail and voice that reading it is like a dream. If you’re in the mood for a dense, history-filled magical England that feels like if Jane Austen wrote Lord of the Rings, you need this book.

What is your favourite guilty pleasure snack?

Cake. Without question. I can’t let myself have it more than once in a while, but I do love it. Normally while writing, I’m drinking decaf coffee, but man. Cake. Now I’m going to spend the rest of the day thinking about it.

About A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Series: Kingdom on Fire #1

Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication date: September 20th 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

I am Henrietta Howel.
The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years.
The prophesied one.
Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames.

Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers.

Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.

As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess’s spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare.

About Jessica Cluess

Jessica Cluess is a writer, a graduate of Northwestern University, and an unapologetic nerd. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she served coffee to the rich and famous while working on her first novel. When she’s not writing books, she’s an instructor at Writopia Lab, helping kids and teens tell their own stories.

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